New-York tribune., 1887-10-23
A METHODIST CENTENNIAL.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS IN BROOKLYN.

GROWING FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS TO BE THf
LARGEST DENOMINATION IN THAT CITY.
The centenary OF tho Methodist Episcopal Churci
In Brooklyn Is about to be celebrated. The eXac
anniversary of the meeting one hundred years ago
which marked the beginning Of the work Oh me oe
nomination. now the strongest numerically OF any III
the city, Is not known but tradition leads to the DO
lief that II early in November and that tlmc mas
becn set for tho commemorative exercises. 1t Is De
signed TO celebrate the day with especial exercises
| in which all the churches Of the denomination VIII
take part Sunday, November 13, has been desig
mated = the date for the services to begin.
On that day each church will mark the anniver'
| sary way. Several Of the Bishops and oTi'
cIal secretaries of the church, who will then be in
| attendance upon the meeting Of the Missionary Com
mIttec in this city, will preach In the principal
| Brooklyn Methodist churches. On the following
day there will be general love feast In the Old
Sands Street Church, the parent organization on the
Other side Of the East River, as the John street
Church is on this side. On Tuesday OF tn, same
wcck a Platform meeting Is TO be held In the south
Second Street Church, in the Eastern District, the
odcst I'm that mart of the city number Of speakers
will address the audience, and the meeting VIII DO
directed by the Rev. ID. o. Ferris. On the next
evening It Is proposed TO hold centennial prayer
meetings In dozen different parts Of the city, theo
or four churches uniting In one service. Inc nha
and most important event In the celebration Will DO
q
largest OF the denomination, at which Bishops, DOC
tors Of Divinity the Mayor Of Brooklyn, and Judges
will speak At all these meetings money Will DO
RAJ sed for tho Brooklyn Church Society ana inc
Home for tie Aged and Infrm
I'm TO the time of the Revolution the only estap-
Ished church in Brooklyn, or the rest of Long ISL
and was tho Dutch Reformed Tho early Dutch settlers
who brought church and school house with then ioi
n century and half had the field all to themselves.
In the limits of Kings County they bullt FOUR
churches, which were sery d IN turn Dy thc Saino
collegiate pastors. Just before the Revolutionary
War broke out, occasional services were hed W
Episcopal and Methodist ministers who were roWeo
across the East River on Sundays and gathered tho
people together where they could in the little village
of Eteu klvn After the excitement Of the war times
had quietcd, a new element found In the village
which the Dutch burghcrs hal built In the centre o
their farms Yankee thrift was Introduced Inc
first rival to the Old Dutch meeting house, whicb
stood In the cert Of the street three blocks east OK
the present City ;!all independent, or Con-
1cgationa, cha.tl which was built In Fulton-st'.
opposite Clark TWO years later the society oc-
cupying It dsbanded and 1t passed. into the possess
ion of the Epscopalians and was the first church VI
that denomination. No further effort was made to
found a Congregational church FOR sixty years
sPRINGING FROM HUMBLE SOURCES.
In the same year, 1857, tho Rev. WOOman HlcK
son, Of the john street Methodist Church in this
gathered congregation TO hear him preach lie
stood upon a table in New, now sands-st, close "
the entrance to the Bridge, and opposite the present
Sands Street Methodist Church out of that meet
ng grew a class organized by tho preacher which
proved tho nucleus Of the first church The weather
was too cool for outdoor services, place Of meet
ing was found in a cooper shop the ferry. Here
and I'm private houses services were continued at
irregular intervals for the succeeding seven years.
In 1904 a church formally organized and IL was
Incorporated as the First Methodist Episcopal Church
I'm the OF Brooklyn, Kings County, Nassau Isl
and Tho first Board Of Trustees was composed Ok
BurIett Striker, John Garrison, Isaac Moses,
Thomas Van Pelt, Rlcfah Everett and Stephen
HondrIckson They bought the site where the oaidS
Street Church now stands and tho first Methodist
Church on Long Island was reared upon 1t. Inc
socloty soon became vigorous and una the sue
cessivc pastors according to the Methodist iheIaht
system, the memtclship increased When Bishop
Asbury paid visit Brooklyn in l791 he huhd the
church in a sound aud prosperous condition III
1904 an enlargement oj tho original edihce 10 ac-
commo4atc the growing congregation was male
ono Of the lcaling mem AT that period was Jo-
scph Harper, who had from England III l'lO'
Ills house made the home ot the Meihch7t pea'h-
crs and tho church voted that they should pay nm
50 20 for board Mr.. Harper founded tho hrni
Of Harper Il Brothers. 1he ground at The rear Oh th9
church was bought aud graveyard was male OF II.
Al the rear a chapel ard parsonage were built hontnI
on ulgl-.t In 1910 the little original edihce WAS
sod and converted into court house and town nam
after being moved to Fulton-t. In Is place what was
known a, the White church for third Of century
vas erected. 1t was 20 By ~ feet In szc, and waS
ntted with wide galleries. and accommodated over lOoO
persons. This was replaced by brick building IN
l-4i which cost 4io.OCO A few years lact this was
burned IN the fire which DESTROYED large lar oi mo
city in the vicinity Ci sands and Fulton SIS ony tho
wa- Of the church remained, bur The congregation soon
rebuilt the cdllcc which still remains. II has width
Of 6n fc and a depth OF 20 feet, While connodou'
lecture room and sunday --chVu hall atr ln TIE f'at VII"
cIa-. rooms between. Counthian columns ornament
the front and the brick wall, arc pautol dark brown
II stands directly opposite the south roadway of the
Bridge AMI is In one Of the busiest pal- u the 'I'E'
The oaicc Of thc Bridge Trustees fnk- % on one sr
and near 10y are paw rloP ami great hI"'f Nh'p'
Amid such iuconsIrou, surroundings the Oh church
stands. with the grave, OF it, early mei eis anu iou
crs alongside of it, walls.
some Of the tomb-oncs are nearly 100 years old,
but no bodies have been laid rhcrc for more than
score of years Rubbish covers the grave ON the noth
side of church, while at the rear well worn loot
path wins among the tombstones up TO the doors %
tbo clas, rooms one OF the stones l. inscrtel 10 tho
memory of the Rev. John SummcrhcId, an eloquent
vounc minister who died In leo at the early age %
twcnty-cxcn bur who had gained great reputation a.
mn nil orator I'm his denomination lN dust was re-
moved to Greenwood few years ago but the S'ouo Wa
eft beside the church. He first burei orncd'h thS
altar OF h old White Church., bur when lhat was 'or"
down the body placed In ancther art OF the 'hCh
ward beside that of his ,athc. William symmetrical
The latrer's granddaughter . wife of the N'V A"N
aulcr Mclean, now the pastor Of the >an!s Suc't
church. Intn recently, the pastor lived in the house
adjoining the churchyad on the south In lish ST. p"'
the building Of tie extension of the HrdSo TRACKS "o"'
Wa-hingtOu-st altered the c h"cicr "i ~" s''ot ~
hat the house has been given over to several Ha'a'
,amcs and the pastor lives in sands ST. cas- oi 'ho
bridge
THE OLD LANDMARK MUST soon GO.
Tho cpcroachments of travel AMI business around Ut"
old church r,ndcrs only question OF iin' Wheh II